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All Things Round and Throwable

Throwable…hmm…I think I just made that word up. Eh. It’s a post about sports, the grammatical rules should be loosened.

Here’s the story. In short, the mayor of OKC wants to spend $100 million dollars to overhaul the relatively new Ford Center to hopefully entice the SuperSonics to town. I’m sure it’s not 100 million of his own dollars. Nor will it be borrowed against projected profits from the theoretical team this should attract. No, it will come from tax payers. Not ticket price payers, not fans, not corporate sponsors, but most likely tax payers. For anyone who has read my little blog before, you know I’m less than thrilled about the idea.

I have a many problems with this idea of the esteemed mayor of Oklahoma City. 1. Tax dollars should be spent on public services, not entertainment. Sports are entertainment. If you choose to spend your money watching sweaty guys throw a ball through a hoop, be my guest. I’d rather spend my money at the symphony or the theater 2. Anything tax dollars fund should have free admission for tax payers. As in, public schools and parks3. There is no guarantee this team is even coming! The city they are currently is is suing them for crying out loud. Ah yes, that turned out to be a great investment for the city. They’ve had to turn to lawyers in protect their perceived returns.

The people of Seattle saw the light and voted not to spend money on frivolous entertainment. Rather they chose to listen to a visionary group called Citizens for More Important Things. They voted, they signed petitions, they did any number of things to stop their tax dollars from funding something no one was interested in. They decided their money was better spent in the education system rather than lining the pockets of the role models found in the ranks of professional sports. They decided it was more important that their children learn math and science than throwing a ball and scoring with the opposite sex. I can only hope that the people of Oklahoma City will prove to be so wise.

As free thinking people, we should be able to decide what kind of entertainment out hard earned money goes to support. If you like basketball, great. You have my blessing in purchasing tickets to the next game. I happen to like anime and will be spending entertainment budget on DVDs instead. I work hard. I support my share of welfare baby factories. I should not be forced to part with my money in support of an entertainment venue from which I receive no entertainment. I don’t care to pay for a single screw in a facility in which I will probably never step. I certainly will not be paying to enter said facility.